Google Assistant Is Getting A Sense Of Humor From Pixar and ‘The Onion’

Google hopes that its artificial intellingence software, Assistant, can be more than just a regular robotic helper. A sense of humor is a distinct feature that sets humans apart from other “sentient” creatures. So Google wanted to bring a bit of humor to its AT, so it brought on some big-name writers from important companies to aid in doing so.

As Google Home gets closer and closer to launch, the artificial intelligence assistant is not only getting smarter, but also a little for more friendly, and much more humorous. As reported by the Wall Street Journal in a piece about AI helpers like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assitant, Google is trying to one up the competition by hiring comedy writing alumni of animation studio Pixar and farcical newspaper The Onion.

Google want to make the Assistant more personable

Google believes that conversation is an integral part of interacting with AI. The upcoming Google Home device is set to compete directly with the likes of Amazon’s Echo and Siri. However, Google Assistant has already demonstrated that it can be far more personable than Echo’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri.

To create an AI with personality, Google looked for people who were already entirely familiar with creating one. The search giant brought on board storyboard crafters from the massively popular animation studio Pixar to aid in making their AI into an identifiable personality. In addition, Google brought on some writers from the tongue-in-cheek newspaper The Onion to give the AI just the right amount of sass.

Google’s Assistant to compete with Siri, Alexa

Google announced Home last week, a device which contains the Assistant, and it will compete with other AI-powered tech devices such as Amazon’s Echo. Google’s assistant is very close to Alexa, which is the AI that lives in the Echo, in that they both help with simple commands and requests. They both have voice-recognition software, language understanding, and they both get smarter over time.

One can ask the Assistant to tell a joke, get directions, or call an Uber, but it can also perform tasks such as remembering your local weather and your favorite musical artists. Like other current AI platforms, including Alexa or Apple’s Siri, the Assistant can be both nice and snide (in a good sort of way), which helps it in becoming more understandable and fun to use.

The Assistant works alongside Google Home, but it is also enabled within Google’s new messaging application, Allo, as well the company’s brand-new Pixel smartphones.